iC/ 


;-NRLF 


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John  and  Sebastian  Cabot 

A  FOUR  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY  MEMORIAL 
OF  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 

BY 

HARRY  HAKES,  M.  D. 

MEMBER   OF  THE  WYOMING   HISTORICAL  AND   GEOLOGICAL   SGCir.TV.,  <     >      i- 
THE   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY   OF   PENNSYLVANIA,   &C.,    oc7. 


READ  BEFORE  THE  WYOMING  HISTORICAL  AND  GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY 
JUNE  24th,  1897. 


Prepared  at  the  request  of  and  published  by  the  Society. 


WILKES-BARRE,  PENN'A, 
1897. 


John  and  Sebastian  Cabot, 

A  FOUR  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY  MEMORIAL 
OF  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  AMERICA. 


HARRY  HAKES,  M.  D. 


MEMBER    OF   THE   WYOMING   HISTORICAL   AND   GEOLOGICAL,  SOCIETY,'    '        ^ 
THE   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY   OF   PENNSYLVANIA,   &C".,    &C.«',      „          '    ',*'•> 


READ  BEFORK  THE  WYOMING  HISTORICAL  AND  GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY, 
JUNE  24th,  1897. 


Prepared  at  the  request  of  and  published  by  the  Society. 


WILKES-BARRE,  PENN'A. 
1897. 


E.  B.  YORDY,  PRINTKR, 

WILKHS-BARKH. 


JOHN  AND  SEBASTIAN  CABOT. 


READ    BEFORE   THE   WYOMING    HISTORICAL   AND  GEOLOGICAL   SOCIETY, 

BY   HARRY    HAKES,  M.  D., 

JUNE    24,    1897. 


Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

Patriotism  is  a  sentiment,  a  disposition  of  th'e  "heart,  and 
finds  many  and  widely  different  modes  of  exemrJMoa'citm 
and  expression,  as  shouting,  ringing  bells/  firing*  cannon 
processions,  fasting  and  prayer,  music,  raisin'g  mbmiments; 
and  erecting  arches,  &c. 

The  celebration  of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
declaration  of  American  independence,  and  the  world's  fair  at 
Chicago,  commemorative  of  the  four  hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus,  as  well  as  the 
recent  dedication  of  the  tomb  of  General  Grant,  and  the 
erection  of  a  beautiful  equestrian  statue  of  George  Wash 
ington,  were  acts  indicative  of  a  noble  patriotism.  Not 
withstanding  the  history  of  the  world  shows  a  great  pre 
ponderance  of  military  hero-worship,  rather  than  tributes  to 
the  grand  heroes  and  leaders  in  the  domain  of  ideas,  yet 
there  is  much  to  encourage  the  thought  that  the  grade  of 
learning,  of  civilization,  of  philosophy  and  religious  ethics 
now  foreshadowed,  to  distinguished  the  past  from  the  future, 
will  more  and  more  predominate,  to  determine  that  the 
world's  greater  heroes  are  those  whose  labors  culminate  in 
producing  the  greatest  degree  of  universal  peace  and  happi 
ness  without  bloodshed  and  terror. 

In  this  brief  paper  it  is  as  impossible  as  unnecessary,  and 
out  of  place,  to  attempt  to  produce  a  polished  literary  gem. 
History,  however,  is  more  than  a  mere  chronological  state 
ment  of  facts.  In  its  broader  conception  it  must  embrace 


8A/3 
&U<dfc 


the  philosophy  or  ideas  which  constitute  the  ground  work 
upon  which  all  facts  are  based.  In  other  words,  theory 
must  precede  action. 

John  Cabot,  certainly,  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  possibly,  were 
the  first  Europeans  to  discover  the  American  continent  and 
make  record  and  cartographical  representation  of  the  same, 
preserving  to  all  posterity  the  time,  place  and  circumstance 
of  their  discovery.  To  the  present  time  the  American  peo 
ple  have  neglected  to  place  one  stone  upon  another  designed 
to  memorialize  those  men,  or  to  express  gratitude  for  the 
geVgc4^6i*cai  discovery,  which  either  made  our  great  nation 
a  .possibility,  bp  an  accomplished  fact.  While  we  claim  for 
tfre  Cabots  ttie'distinguished  honor  of  the  first  view  of  the 
American  continent,  technically,  and  in  fact,  we  do  not  pre 
sume  to  name  them  as  the  discoverers  of  America,  in  the 
largest  and  more  just  sense  of  the  phrase.  That  distin 
guished  honor  the  world  has  long  since  accorded  to  Chris 
topher  Columbus,  and  their  righteous  judgment  should 
never  again  be  disputed.  The  discovery  and  exploration  of 
America  cannot  be  understood  by  one  distinct  statement  of 
fact.  The  results  of  various  navigations  and  explorations, 
attended  with  much  peril  and  anxious  solicitude,  covering  a 
period  of  two  hundred  years,  makes  intelligible  and  plain  to 
us,  what  to  the  early  navigators  and  explorers  was  chaotic 
and  at  most  dubious,  and  solely  problematical.  Nor  is  it 
necessary  for  the  purposes  of  this  paper  that  we  review  all 
that  early  history  in  detail.  The  nautical  problem  and  the 
geographical  discoveries  proposed  by  Diaz,  Da  Gama,  Co 
lumbus,  Magellan,  Verrazano,  and  the  Cabots,  was  not  to  find 
an  unknown  continent,  but  solely  to  ascertain  the  most  feasi 
ble  route  to  the  eastern  shores  of  Asia.  At  the  time  the  Ca 
bots  made  their  first  voyage  of  discovery  all  the  knowledge 
that  Europe  possessed  pertinent  to  the  great  problem,was,that 
Columbus  had  come  upon  islands  in  the  Atlantic  which  he 
and  all  others  supposed  was  the  continent  of  Asia,  or  immedi- 


5 

ate  outlying  islands.  That  discovery  was  made  on  the  elev 
enth  day  of  October,  A.D.  1492.  When  Columbus  returned  to 
Spain,  in  the  Spring  of  1493,  and  reported  his  discovery,  Pope 
Alexander  VI  promptly  proceeded  to  make  partition  be 
tween  Spain  and  Portugal,  of  all  the  regions  of  the  earth  lying 
between  Western  Europe  and  Eastern  Asia.  This  decree 
(technically  called  a  "bull")  gave  all  lands  discovered,  or  to 
be  discovered,  to  the  west  of  a  meridian  one  hundred 
leagues  west  of  the  Azores  and  Cape  Verde  islands  to  Spain, 
and  all  lands  eastward  of  that  line  to  Portugal.  The  con 
vention  of  Tordesillas,  June  7,  1494,  fixed  the  line  of  de 
marcation  at  a  meridian  370  leagues  west  of  the  Cape  Verde 
islands.  This  was  very  acceptable  to  Spain  and  Portugal, 
but  England  recognized  no  such  right  or  authority  in  the 
Papal  office.  In  the  meantime  the  discovery  of  Columbus 
was  bruited  among  the  English  people,  and  at  the  English 
court.  Both  court  and  people  were  pricked  with  enterprise 
to  compete  with  Spain  for  a  share  of  what  was  to  be  gained 
by  discoveries  at  the  west.  This  fact  is  the  proper  introduc 
tion  of  the  Cabots  to  our  consideration.  We  need  con 
stantly  to  keep  before  our  minds  the  total  ignorance  of  all 
parties  at  that  time  of  the  real  nature  of  the  discovery  of 
Columbus.  Columbus  supposed  he  had  reached  Eastern 
Asia,  and  no  one  then  could  dispute  his  claimj  No  correct 
conception  was  possible  until  twenty  years  had  passed,  and 
Balboa  had,  from  the  height  of  Darien,  discovered  ten  thou 
sand  miles  of  ocean  breadth  between  the  newly  discovered 
lands  and  Eastern  Asia. 

John  Cabot,  like  Columbus,  was  a  native  of  Genoa.  He 
later  removed  to  Venice,  and  became  a  citizen  of  that  place. 
He  migrated  to  England  about  the  year  1490,  with  his  three 
sons,  the  second  of  them  being  Sebastian,  who  was  24  or  25 
years  of  age  in  1497.  The  services  of  father  and  son  are  so 
commingled  and  confused  by  the  chroniclers  of  their  day  that 
it  is  an  impossible  task  on  our  part  to  justly  distinguish  and 


divide  the  honors  between  them.  1  can  find  nothing  more 
suitable  with  which  to  prelude  the  navigation  of  the  Cabots, 
and  the  inspiring  motives,  than  the  statement  in  after  years 
made  to  the  Pope's  Envoy  in  Spain  by  Sebastian  Cabot. 
He  says :  "  When  news  that  Don  Christopher  Colonus 
(Genoese)  had  discovered  the  coasts  of  India,  whereof  was 
great  talk  in  all  the  court  of  King  Henry  VII,  who  then 
reigned,  insomuch  that  all  men,  with  great  admiration, 
affirmed  it  to  be  a  thing  more  divine  than  human,  to  sail  by 
the  west  into  the  east,  where  spices  grow,  by  a  map  that  was 
never  known  before.  By  this  fame  and  report  there  increased 
in  my  heart  a  great  flame  of  desire  to  attempt  some  notable 
thing."  Whether  his  father  was  moved  to  the  same  extent 
and  by  the  same  desire  as  his  son  we  are  not  informed.  It 
is  known  that  Sebastian  Cabot  was  well  versed  in  cos 
mography,  and  on  his  removal  to  Spain,  some  time  after 
making  his  voyages  for  England,  was  commissioned  pilot- 
major  for  Spain,  an  office  he  held  for  several  years.  The 
Cabots  appear  to  have  fully  appreciated  the  bearing  upon 
great  circle  sailing,  caused  by  the  shortening  of  the  degrees 
of  longitude  as  we  move  further  north  or  south  from  the 
equator.  Bearing  in  mind  that  Columbus  had  sailed  nearly 
due  west  on  the  latitude  of  the  Canary  islands,  discovering 
land  after  sailing  33  days  and  3200  miles,  the  Cabots  rightly 
reasoned,  that  by  sailing  from  Bristol  in  England,  on  latitude 
53  degrees  north,  they  would  come  to  the  coast  of  Asia,  the 
land  that  Columbus  was  supposed  to  have  discovered,  in 
about  two-thirds  of  the  time,  and  two-thirds  of  the  distance, 
that  characterized  the  voyage  of  Columbus.  When  this 
plausible  theory  was  by  them  explained  to  King  Henry,  he 
quite  readily  granted  a  patent  to  John  Cabot  and  his  sons, 
upon  apparent  liberal  terms  and  conditions,  to  undertake  a 
westerly  voyage  of  discovery.  They  were  to  sail  from,  and 
return  to,  the  port  of  Bristol ;  must  sail  under  the  flag  of 
England,  and  take  possession  of  all  lands  discovered  for  the 


British  crown,  and  return  one-fifth  of  the  profits  of  trie  expe 
dition  to  the  king.  King  Henry  was  more  discreet  than  the 
Spanish  king,  for  he  did  not  bestow  upon  Cabots  the  title 
of  viceroy  over  the  lands  they  might  discover,  as  Ferdinand 
had  to  Columbus.  The  king  thus  wisely  avoided  any  legal 
contest  with  the  Cabots  or  their  heirs  as  to  great  and  im 
portant  rights  and  prerogatives. 

Our  subject  is  ponderous,  in  that  it  relates  to  great  men 
and  greater  events,  therefore  I  must  deal  somewhat  by 
wholesale,  for  our  men  are  giants  in  the  world's  history,  and 
cannot  be  estimated  by  or  compared  with  common  stand 
ards,  nor  can  I  now  attempt  measurements  of  the  earth  by 
inches.  Let  us  for  two  minutes,  in  imagination,  go  back  to 
our  little  old  red  school-house  by  the  country  roadside, 
and  refresh  our  recollections  in  geography.  Please  take 
seats,  facing  the  north,  right  hand  east,  left  hand  west,  at 
our  backs  south,  the  Eastern  hemisphere  is  at  the  right,  and 
the  Western  at  the  left.  Open  your  maps  at  the  familiar  old 
representation  of  the  hemispheres  of  the  earth  on  plane. 
Now  we  take  a  small  brush  and  dip  it  in  the  blackest  of 
black  ink,  indicative  of  total  ignorance,  and  proceed  to  ob 
scure  those  parts  of  the  earth's  surface  of  which  Europeans 
had  no  knowledge,  and  only  quite  incorrect  conception,  on 
the  morning  of  the  3d  day  of  August,  A.  D.  1492.  On 
that  day -Columbus  sailed  on  his  first  and  most  important 
voyage  to  the  west. 

We  place  our  brush  a  little  to  the  south  and  west  of  the 
southerly  extension  of  Greenland,  on  the  6oth  parallel  of 
north  latitude,  and  draw  a  line  east,  on  that  parallel,  to  the 
meridian  of  25  degrees  west  longitude,  and  follow  that  me 
ridian  to  the  equator,  and  blacken  the  whole  of  the  Western 
hemisphere  weNst  and  south  of  our  lines.  Now  draw  a  line 
from  the  right  hand  or  eastern  border  of  the  Eastern  hemi 
sphere,  at  latitude  40  degrees  north,  and  draw  a  straight 
line  to  the  equator  to  the  meridian  of  longitude  no  degrees 


8 

east,  and  follow  the  equator  to  the  west  border  of  the  hem 
isphere.  Blacken  all  south  and  east  of  our  lines  to  the 
margin  of  the  hemisphere.  You  now  observe  that  the  whole 
of  the  land  of  the  American  continent  has  disappeared,  to 
gether  with  the  greater  portion  of  the  Atlantic  ocean,  and 
the  whole  of  the  Pacific  ocean ;  about  one-half  of  Africa  is 
in  mourning,  together  with  Australia,  and  the  islands  to  the 
east  and  north  and  to  the  south  to  the  south  pole.  What 
remains  unpainted  upon  the  hemispheres  is  more  of  the 
earth's  surface  than  with  which  Europeans  were  fairly  ac 
quainted.  In  all  the  historical  works  of  Mr.  John  Fiske,  he 
has  done  no  better  service  to  the  present  or  for  future  gen 
erations  than  by  his  persistent  insistance  of  the  necessity  of 
our  first  banishing  from  our  minds  our  modern  maps,  as 
preliminary  to  a  just  understanding  of  the  difficulties  that 
beset  the  early  theorists  and  navigators.  An  examination 
of  the  charts  and  maps  made  by  them  when  they  attempted 
to  delineate  their  new  discoveries  and  connect  them  to  the 
Eastern  and  better  known  hemisphere,  will  show  us  at  once 
the  difficulties  they  encountered.  At  the  date  last  above 
given,  August  3d,  1492,  there  was  a  single  grand  geograph 
ical  problem  demanding  solution ;  and  that  was,  t(  Could 
Europeans  travel  to  Eastern  Asia  by  an  all  water  or  sailing 
route  ?"  There  was  then  two  theories.  The  Portugese  had  an 
idea  that  it  might  be  possible  to  sail  around  the  south  of  Afri 
ca,  and  reach  the  Indian  ocean,  which  was  known  washed 
the  western  shores  of  India  and  China,  Her  daring  navi 
gators  were  at  that  very  date,  with  doubt  and  trepidation, 
slowly  ploughing  the  water  of  the  Atlantic  southward  on 
the  western  coast,  to  ascertain  the  southern  point  of  Africa, 
if  there  was  any.  At  this  period  Columbus  had  determined 
to  anticipate  the  project  of  Portugal,  by  a  voyage  directly 
westward  over  the  unknown  and  untraveled  Atlantic, 
making  a  shorter  journey  than  by  the  Portugese  theory. 
Spain,  at  the  moment,  was  witnessing  his  departure  in  her 


. 

interest.  Europe  was  on  the  tiptoe  of  excitement  and  hope 
ful  expectation.  The  objective  point  of  either  navigation 
was  the  same  ;  the  ostensible  motives  the  same — commerce, 
trade  and  barter ;  but,  in  fact,  as  was  soon  to  be  manifest, 
conquest  and  plunder.  Down  to  the  first  of  May,  1497,  all 
that  had  been  discovered  for  Spain  by  Columbus  was  Cuba, 
San  Domingo,  Jamaica,  and  half  a  dozen  smaller  islands  in 
the  immediate  vicinity.  Thus  the  problem  stood  on  that 
day.  Listen ;  a  low  muttering  thunder  reverberates  over 
Europe.  It  is  the  threatening  growl  of  the  British  lion  as 
he  breaks  from  his  lair.  He  sniffs  the  scent  of  large  game, 
a  continent  of  royal  game.  His  eyes  are  balls  of  fire,  his 
claws  as  iron,  his  jaws  set  with  teeth  of  steel  as  he  crouches 
in  preparation  to  seize  his  prey.  He  brushes  aside  the  Pope's 
bull.  The  bull  took  to  the  woods  or  sank  beneath  the  At 
lantic's  waves  as  the  lion,  with  a  bound,  sets  his  claws  in 
the  soil  of  the  American  continent,  while  John  Cabot  plants 
the  royal  standard  of  England,  June  24,  1497,  recalling  to 
us  the  long  drawn  words  of  a  youthful  play,  HOLD- 
FAST-ALL-I-GIVE-YOU. 

From  that  June  morning  1497,  England  could  make  law 
ful  claim  to  the  whole  American  continent,  by  right  of  first 
discovery.  That  is  horn-book  law,  sound  law,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  world.  The  right  by  first  dis 
covery  extends  to  and  embraces  all  land  connected  by  con 
tinuity  of  visible  and  tangible  surface  with  the  place  of 
discovery. 

John  and  Sebastian  sailed  early  in  May  1497,  in  the  ship 
Mathew,  with  a  crew  of  eighteen  men.  They  took  a  course 
a  little  north  of  west  and  discovered  land  early  in  the  morn 
ing  of  the  24th  day  of  June  following,  after  sailing  by  their 
reconing,  2100  miles.  They  planted  the  flag  of  England 
upon  the  land,  but  saw  no  native  inhabitants.  They  dis 
covered  immense  shoals  of  cod-fish  on  those  coasts,  so 


10 

dense,  that  they  impeded  the  sailing  of  their  ship.  By  the 
latter  part  of  July  following  the  Cabots  had  returned  to 
Bristol  and  made  report  of  their  voyage.  The  precise  place 
of  their  terra  prima  visa  (land  first  seen)  has  never  since 
been  determined,  but  it  is  certain  that  it  was  in  the  region  of 
Newfoundland,  most  probably  at  Cape  Breton.  And  it  is 
quite  certain  that  upon  that  voyage  they  did  not  visit  the 
coast  of  Labrador  as  some  writers  have  asserted.  Such  a 
claim  arises  by  commingling  or  reversing  the  places  of  land 
ing  of  the  two  voyages  made.  King  Henry  was  so  well 
pleased  with  the  reports  of  discovery  that  he  gave  John 
Cabot  fifty  dollars,  wherewith  he  might  take  a  spree,  and  in 
silken  dress  show  himself  to  Londoners  as  the  great  navi 
gator  who  had  found,  for  King  Henry,  a  shorter  route  to 
c  Asia  than  Columbus  had  for  Spain. 

"~A  second  and  similar  patent  to  the  first  was  granted  to 
the  Cabots,  and  Sebastian  Cabot  set  sail  again  to  renew  and 
extend  the  discoveries  of  the  former  voyage.  He  sailed  in 
1498,  this  time  with  five  ships.  As  we  have  never  heard  a 
word  again  of  John  Cabot,  nor  know  what  became  of  him, 
it  has  been  surmised  that  he  died  before  the  expedition 
sailed,  but  we  cannot  assert  it  as  a  fact.  Sebastian  Cabot 
certainly  sailed  with  the  fleet,  and  for  aught  we  know,  John 
also  sailed.  It  seems  strange  to  us  that  if  the  son  knew 
what  became  of  his  father,  he  never  alluded  to  it.  Sebastian 
Cabot  completed  the  second  navigation,  discovering  land, 
first,  on  the  coast  of  Labrador.  After  following  the  coasts 
northward  to  a  high  degree  of  latitude,  and  finding  the 
weather  very  cold,  and  the  coast  still  trending  north,  he 
turned  about,  following  the  coast  southwardly,  we  know  not 
precisely  how  far,  but  quite  certainly  not  as  far  as  Florida, 
as  some  have  contended.  On  this  voyage  native  inhabitants 
were  seen  on  the  coasts.  Three  were  captured  and  taken 
to  England.  Bears  and  other  animals  were  seen.  Sebas- 


II 

tian  Cabot  made  rude  charts  of  the  coasts,  which  in  engraved 
form  and  on  parchment  and  oxhide,  may  yet  be  seenV— par 
ticularly  La  Cosa's  map,  1 500,  and  the  Cantino  map  of  1 502. 

Of  course  Sebastian  returned  to  England  without  having 
found  the  land  of  perfumes  and  spices  which  Spain,  Port 
ugal  and  England  were  so  anxiously  seeking,  or  a  sailing 
route  through  the  American  continent  by  which  he  might 
sail  to  lands  further  west,  (or  as  we  understand  it  now,  to 
Asia.)  But  Cabot  at  the  time  believed  the  land  to  be  Asia, 
though  not  so  rich  a  portion  as  he  had  expected  and  desired. 

The  final  outcome  of  the  Cabot  voyages,  we  state  in  a  few 
words.  The  only  immediate  resuts  were  to  incite  other 
navigators  to  go  to  the  same  regions  for  cargoes  of  codfish, 
and  to  renew  the  search  for  an  all  water  route  somewhere 
through  the  lands  discovered,  to  the  richer  land,  supposed 
to  lie  to  the  west.  Their  navigations  were  folowed  by  Fro- 
bisher,  Rut,  Grube,  Hudson,  Baffin,  Drake  and  many  others. 

In  my  "Discovery  of  America,"  published  in  1892,  in  the 
early  chapters  will  be  found  an  epitome  of  early  American 
navigators,  and  their  relative  claims  to  priority  of  discovery, 
to  which  I  make  neither  additions  or  subtractions.  As  be-  [ 
tween  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot ;  we  may  say  that  John 
was  master  of  the  first  expedition,  and  that  Sebastian  may 
or  may  not  have  accompanied  his  father.  It  appears  more 
than  probable  that  he  did.  Sebastian  certainly  sailed  and 
reported  the  second  expedition,  and  that  his  father  was  not 
in  that  voyage,  but  probably  had  died  before  the  expedition 
sailed.  If  not  so,  and  he  did  embark,  a  serious  duty  de 
volved  upon  his  son,  on  the  return  of  the  expedition,  to 
account  for  the  loss  of  his  father.  As  this  was  not  done  or 
required,  the  inference  is  irresistable  that  John  was  not  in 
that  expedition.  Neither  of  the  voyages  appear  to  have 
profited  either  the  Cabots  or  the  king  a  dollar.  Mainly  what 
we  learn  of  the  Cabots'  voyages  is  from  friendly  and  gos 
siping  letters,  written  by  foreigners  in  England,  to  friends 


12 

and  acquaintances  in  Italy,  Spain  and  Portugal.  These 
letters  have  no  official  authority,  but  contain  the  common 
talk  of  the  people  in  regard  of  the  current  news  of  the  ex 
pedition  of  the  Cabots. 

During  the  eighty  years,  succeeding  the  discoveries 
of  the  Cabots,  England  might  lawfully  have  claimed  the 
lands  and  regions  of  this  discovery,  by  right  of  discovery. 
England,  however,  never  attempted  to  take  permanent 
possession  of  her  American  discoveries,  until  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  and  in  the  meantime  other  nations  had 
visited  the  lands,  which  tended  to  obscure  and  somewhat 
obliterate  the  English  title  thereto.  However,  in  1607  she 
took  possession  on  the  coast  of  Virginia,  for  the  purpose  of 
colonization,  which  was  followed  in  1620,  by  the  pilgrims  of 
the  Mayflower,  taking  possession  at  Plymouth,  on  the  coast 
of  Massachusetts.  England,  then  as  ever  since,  never  re 
linquished  voluntarily  any  right  once  acquired  to  an  acre 
of  land  in  any  part  of  the  world.  Thus  it  was  110  years 
from  the  discovery  of  Cabots,  to  the  first  attempt  made  by 
England  to  make  a  permanent  settlement  of  her  American 
discoveries.  Of  course  the  pioneer  settlers  were  English 
stock,  and  brought  with  them  English  language,  English 
laws,  English  customs,  and  above  all,  in  power  and  precious 
utility,  the  spirit  of  political  independence,  and  in  a  full  meas 
ure  the  spirit  of  religious  liberty.  The  very  soil  of  America 
seemed  exactly  and  providentially  adapted  to  the  germi 
nation  and  growth  of  the  spiritual  seed  sown,  so  dear  to  our 
forefathers  and  so  precious  to  us,  their  descendants.  Had 
our  region  of  North  America  been  colonized  by  Portugal, 
France,  Italy  or  Spain,  the  great  nation  of  the  United  States 
of  America  would  never  have  been  born.  In  recollection 
of  their  mother  country,  there  is  but  little  wonder  that  our 
early  settlers  named  the  new  possession  "New  England" 

Do  you  query  what  this  country  would  have  been  or 
would  be,  under  the  auspices  of  Portugal  or  Spain  ?     If  so, 


13 

look  upon  a  hundred  thousand  emigrants  as  they  arrive 
upon  our  shores,  or  look  at  Cuba,  or  the  Philipine  islands, 
or  the  decadence  of  Portugal,  where  once  originated  the 
enterprises  which  culminated  in  the  discovery  of  America, 
and  all  our  grandeur  as  a  nation. 

I  fancy  I  hear  you  ask :  What  motives  impelled  those 
early  navigators  and  explorers  to  make  such  sacrifice  of  time 
and  money,  to  embark  upon  such  uncertain  expeditions 
upon  unknown  waters  and  desert  wastes  ;  to  imperil  their 
lives  and  fortunes  upon  such  rash  ventures ;  to  undergo 
years  of  toil,  such  terrible  anxiety  and  suffering  ?  With  them, 
as  with  men  in  all  ages,  Gold  and  Glory  took  front  rank 
among  the  motives.  But  strange  as  it  may  now  seem,  it  was 
not  the  eye  or  ear's  delight  only,  nor  geographic  curiosity, 
that  was  consulted.  The  sense  of  smell  commanded  a  greater 
attention  and  was  a  greater  factor  in  prompting  the  astound 
ing  enterprise.  We  are  speaking  of  an  age  when  sanitary 
science  cut  no  figure  in  the  affairs  of  life — an  age  before 
the  ingenius  Yankee  had  made  and  patented  a  thousand 
varieties  of  toilet  soap — an  age  before  a  gospel  of  personal 
and  general  cleanliness  was  preached  or  practiced.  Per 
fumery,  to  take  the  place  of  soap  and  water,  was  in  great 
demand.  Rare,  expensive,  and  loud  perfumes,  to  antagonize 
and  stifle  the  offensiveness  of  unwashed  nature,  commanded 
a  premium,  and  its  extravagant  use  then  indicated  wealth, 
and  the  uppercrust  of  fashionable  society.  In  keeping  with 
the  ideas  of  the  times,  it  was  the  sign  and  seal  of  aristocracy, 
as  creditable  then  as  discreditable  and  unnecessary  now, 
however  rank  the  perfume.  Spices  and  perfumes  were  not 
indigenous  in  Europe.  Such  merchandise  came  from  the 
extreme  and  unknown  East  by  caravan  to  Alexandria,  in 
Egypt.  The  transportation,  added  to  the  cost  of  produc 
tion,  made  such  goods  enormously  expensive.  Portugal 
first — followed  by  Spain,  and  lastly  by  England,  all  desired 
a  monopoly  of  that  trade.  This  it  was  that  brought  into 


14 

prominence  the  great  navigators  already  mentioned,  includ 
ing  the  men  whose  names  and  exploits  we  are  assembled  to 
honor  and  commemorate. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  have  grown  to  be  a  na 
tion  of  the  first  rank  in  power,  in  wealth,  in  enlightened 
intelligence,  and  in  prosperity.  Our  form  of  government, 
founded  upon  the  eternal  principles  of  liberty,  governed  by 
law,  the  equality  of  men  and  liberty  of  religious  conscience, 
that  we  have  amply  demonstrated  the  powers  of  self-govern 
ment  by  the  people,  without  the  burden  of  standing  armies 
to  keep  the  peace.  We  think  our  forefathers  did  wisely  in 
divorcing  the  church  from  the  state,  and  that  time  has  now 
shown  the  world  that  people  of  all  manner  of  religious  opin 
ions  may  dwell  together  in  peace  and  harmony,  and  that 
our  system  and  means  of  education  make  strong  and  secure 
the  family,  the  church,  and  the  stale.  In  receiving  the  price 
less  inheritance,  our  people  must  realize  the  solemn  and 
binding  obligation  which  binds  us  to  keep  and  preserve  all 
our  dear  institutions,  pure  and  intact,  embellished  in  all  their 
parts  and  principles,  for  all  succeeding  generations. 

And  now,  imbued  with  the  patriotism  that  is  proper  and 
becoming  the  occasion,  we,  without  ostentation  or  pageant, 
without  trumpet,  drum  or  fiddle,  in  the  absence  of  monu 
ment  of  either  stone  or  brass,  devote  a  passing  hour  in  re 
membrance  of  the  men  whose  names  suggest  this  pleasant 
duty,  and  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  their  discovery 
of  the  land  we  possess  in  great  peace  and  abundant  pros 
perity. 


DATE 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

OVERDUE. 


SEP2lt943 


SCP  22 


-~~~ 


^ 


U-^i-^ 


10De'57WJ 


,-.  v 


,  .  ••• : 


USE 


LD21-100m-7,'39(402s) 


Binder 
Gaylord  Bros. 

Makers 
Stockton,  Calif. 

PAT.  IAN.  21,  1908 


680423 

\^ 


UMVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


